


Two-Man Con

by thecountessolivia (orphan_account)



Category: American Gods - Neil Gaiman, Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Hannibal is Odin, M/M, Will is Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:07:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8041981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/thecountessolivia
Summary: It was only a matter of time, thought Shadow. When there's so much good blood just waiting to be spilled, nothing could keep those two apart.





	Two-Man Con

**Author's Note:**

> Note: this story contains spoilers about "American Gods".

Eighteen months before, Shadow began to dream again. The dreams led him here, to an arcade café in Vienna.

Now he was lingering in the moribund square, some distance away, scanning the café tables. Mostly deserted, they scattered beneath the gothic arches, covered in pristine white tablecloths and silverware fondled by the stretching golden fingers of autumnal sun.

It wasn't long before Shadow's eyes settled on the man.

There was no sensible reason Shadow should know this man, but know him he did -- intimately. That same solid sense of presence no longer occupied the craggy shape he'd known years ago in America or the gray cloaked figure he'd given his coin to in Reykjavik -- but an elegant man in his late forties.

And even from afar Shadow recognised the extraordinary curve of the mouth that had spoken to him softly while he stumbled through the valleys of sleep.

The man was drinking wine and reading a book. He was made of sharp features, fluid gestures and precise lines. The manifestation of him was so immaculate that it seemed to Shadow that something had crawled into a polished ideal of a man and wore him like a suit. Which, Shadow guessed, was exactly the case.

He stepped closer then stopped again, hesitating. He stared some more and assessed.

" _He looks... contented. Well-fed._ " thought Shadow. " _He looks ready_ _._ " At that, his heart leapt into his throat, as if looking for a noose that might tighten there. But he didn't, couldn't stop drawing closer. 

He was still some steps away when the man peered up, slowly and without surprise. He set his book down at once and nodded. The eyes that met Shadow, sparkling and creased with a slowly spreading smile, had been warmed from gray to amber brown. Shadow found he could no longer tell which one was fake.

"Whilst it isn't you I am expecting, Shadow," the man said in an accent Shadow didn't recognise, "I am glad to see you all the same. Please, join me."


End file.
